Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Gap suburb in the western suburbs of Brisbane and in the Ryan electorate is a very beautiful place to live. It is a family-friendly place where lots of business activities are going on. It is a community that is very proud of its involvement in civic affairs and takes a very deep interest in the politics of our nation and all that goes on in the state of Queensland today. I want to talk about The Gap because this year The Gap celebrates its sesquicentenary—that is, the 150th anniversary of settlement there, its 150th birthday. I am very proud to be the federal member for Ryan, which covers the suburb of The Gap, on this special occasion. It is not every day that any of our local suburbs celebrates such a milestone.

It is 150 years since it was first settled, in 1858—of course, for those of us from Queensland, that is even before Queensland became a colony, which was in 1859. It was settled when the first land sales were conducted, in 1858, when the area was still part of the colony of New South Wales. Several years then passed before the next release of land for interested settlers, in the 1860s. The Gap remained a very rural community for almost a century, until the 1950s, when primary production diminished and land subdivisions for residential purposes began to appear in greater numbers. Today it is a very vibrant community. It is a community that takes a deep interest in its people, and, as I say, I am very proud to be its representative.

On the weekend I had the distinct pleasure of speaking at a wonderful event organised by Jeff and Ann Hilder, who are respectively the president and secretary of The Gap Pioneer and History Group. They are well-known residents of The Gap, they are highly respected and they are the very best of Australia as local community activists go because they do all kinds of things of interest for the people of The Gap. They are the ones with the vision and they are the driving force behind a series of events in The Gap to celebrate its sesquicentenary. On the weekend I attended yet another of these events, a huge historical display of photos and maps held at the Uniting Church hall for the public to be part of and to celebrate and honour those who came before them—the previous generations who did so much to make The Gap what it is today. I take this opportunity to acknowledge all those significant community figures in The Gap who make it what it is, such as the local councillor and the principals of the local schools: primary schools Hilder Road State School, The Gap State School, Payne Road State School and St Peter Chanel School, and The Gap State High School—great schools in the local community.